The Rat Room

There are steps to intros for a reason. But no. I got too comfortable and decided to jump ahead. Today I added hidey holes, fleece cubes and such. Everything was going great. I could feel that the Chief was feeling more tense and anxious but I let it go thinking he just needs to familiarize himself. I should have paid more attention when I saw Gera go for his Chief grooming session and not stay long. He left almost immediately. If you want to know how things are going, watch the rats around. Duh. Gera pretty much told me that Chief was not in a good mood. This mood and signals he was sending made Max come to see him. Bad idea. Max decided it was time to flip the Chief and dominate. Ordinarily this is a good thing. But today, not so much, not with Chief being tense already and the fact that Max likes to use his teeth, bad combo. Chief ended up getting cut up a bit. Nothing majour, he’ll live but it was enough to make me realize: follow the damn intro steps. I washed up Chief and flushed out his wounds. He is back in his cage feeling better about it all. The sweet boy still runs to me when I go near his cage. The intro lasted almost an hour today. I didn’t end it right away, I didn’t want them remembering the butchering as the last thing… during Max’s dominating, all the rats around were very upset.
Now they are all back in their cages munching on their veggies. Tomorrow will be another day.

Max and Meeko.

Sweet Chief after the battle.

I have the most amazing rats ever.
I almost didn’t do an intro today. I didn’t get much sleep last night and I had an early morning dentist appointment. But I forced myself to smile and bring the gang together. Well… it was great! First, Max didn’t get puffy once. Not once! He even allowed Meeko to check him out and even abuse him a little like Meeko does to Gera all the time. Rory tried to get manly with Chief but then got bored of it fairly quickly. The truly amazing part, Gera who doesn’t do confrontations and pretty much prefers humans has decided that the Chief is his BFF. I couldn’t believe it when I saw him squished up against the wall together, Chief fiercely grooming Gera. Then when I thought it was getting too intense I pulled Chief away. A few minutes later, Gera made his back to his Chief for another grooming session.
Little Doc was going around marking everything. Once in a while I had to pin him and flip him but only to get him out of his intense desire to mark. It did help in that all the other rats, didn’t pay Doc any attention. Even Rory and Max were like: “whatever, I’m over it” with Doc. Chief didn’t have a run in with no one. At all. It was a great out time and intro.
I had given them a couple of handful of cheerios and that kept them busy and happy. I did however notice that Bianca would go missing a lot. I wasn’t too worried, my room is pretty safe. Then I decided to follow her next time she was back on the bed. Yep. Bianca was busy stashing cheerios under my desk.
I’ve got the best rats.

Caught red handed.

Gera and buddy Chief… love you man.

It’s huddle time.

A very content Max.

Today was back to the bedroom, back to neutral intros because we are adding a Chief to the mix. Right from the word go, Chief was puffy, huge big ball of fur. He was not a happy boy but who can blame him, he spent a month all alone with only daily cuddles from me and even then, I had to be careful because he would lunge and bite. So here he is in the middle of four fiesty girls, one gentle male, one baby jumping bean, two big alpha and beta males and the worst of all… pesky weasel Little Doc. Chief met pretty much everyone and seemed to be ok in an upset sort of way with all except for one… can you guess who? Yep. the weasel. Those two would get into a fur ball fight each time they met. Why? Oh… I don’t know, could it be because Little Doc would sprint then leap in the air and mount the Chief. Oh the poor Chief did not like this, not one bit. But each time, I would check them out and no one would be scratched or gashed. This is mucho good news. Poor Chief was chattering and chittering and boggling and bruxxing, and no, not in a good way. Max was excellent. The more I do these intros the more Max amazes me. He’s the alpha but such a good one. He knows to the hold his ground, when to overpower and when to just sit there and give off a soothing presence. Chief really needs him. Each time a very puffy Chief would be near Max, he would calm down and lose his puffiness. One good thing about this, Gera, Max and Rory seemed to really like each other either that or they’ve joined the Rats Against Chiefs team. Although, Gera did get a sweet and short little grooming from him. At about 40 minutes in, there was another Doc and Chief run in. I calmed down the Chief and he went off to sulk in the corner behind the pillows. My wonderful super girl Molly came to me for a cuddle. I told her the Chief needs you. Go cuddle the Chief. Much to my amazement, Molly sauntered over to the Chief and lied down next to him. I was sitting there shocked, wide eyed, I finally snapped out of it so I could take a picture. Molly is the best. She joins the special ranks same as Bijou, Isabelle and Mielle. These girls can calm any rat, they can tame the worst alphas and have the respect of all. This was a great ending. I picked up a soft Chief and put him back home. The Molly Chief cuddle reminded me of one of the first neutral intros with Little Doc… when she stayed cuddled with Doc. Molly, a true momrat.

the gang at the beginning… the white puffy puff ball is Chief.

Molly the super mom and Chief.

As I was setting up the large coroplast for another intro, I could see Little Doc getting all excited. I had to explain to him that he’s still recuperation and won’t be joining the intro today. He wasn’t too happy about that. But he needs to take it slow, he can’t overexert himself at this time, not for another two days.
So the intro was basically with the Rory group and Gera and Meeko. Meeko however was not too receptive to the new guys. It’s a good thing on Monday, I’m going back to doing intros on my bed because Chief will be joining us. I really need Meeko to get to know the guys, especially Max and Rory. Max entered Meeko’s cage and wasn’t very nice to Meeko. Being practically hairless, he gets easily cut. Nothing deep so I know it’s not an outright attack, more of a “come here boy and submit”.
But for the most part it went very well.

Bianca and Max

Gera

Meeko

And this one is for mommy Shelagh, sweet Molly.

Today was the day for Chief and Doc to be neutered. This will take away all their hormonal stress and worries. It also calms down their need to be territorial. Both boys did very well during surgery and are now recovering well at home.
We must always remember that every surgery is a risk. If the rat has any hidden ailments like heart issues, they probably won’t pull through or could become very sick for the rest of their lives. It’s a gamble you take but if you have a good experienced vet, the risk are not as high. There are rats that don’t make it out of surgery or barely make it out of recovery. I’ve had several rats go through surgery with my vet, only once did I lose one. Young Max was 4 months old. The vet figured he had a weak heart which is why he had a cardiac arrest in recovery. I never felt guilty for poor little Max. He was very aggressive and never would have been a happy boy. And with heart issues, he would have been a very sick rat throughout his life.
Make sure to weigh your pros and cons when deciding on surgery… and remember, there are worse fates than death.

Doc:

Chief:

Today was another good day. The rats were more relaxed and generally happy. Max even ventured into Gera’s cage to check things out. Things were tense but nothing else happened. Rory visits Gera’s cage every so often, he then becomes puffy and I gently move him out of the cage and he forgets why he machoed up in the first place. Gera had a great time exploring his out time play area. He’s so happy go lucky, he’s loving and sweet. He’s curious and brave and ever so gentle.
Even better was Little Doc with Rory and Max, they don’t seem to care about the little guy anymore. So this tells me that Max and Rory need to have their run ins with Gera and Meeko so that they can then accept each other. With time, this will happen, I can see Meeko getting braver. He’s also loving the girls so much, especially Chu.
Two more days before the big chop chop… getting nervous as always, but they need the neuters.

The girls checking out the cage. Gera saying: welcome honeys.

Yesterday I was questioning myself about the intros. Why do I do this?
Today I got my answer. I opened up the cages and Meeko immediately started to popcorn. He was bouncing all over the place. Soon after, Gera was bouncing around with him and that’s with having Little Doc sitting next to them. Even with his bully attitude, it wouldn’t stop the fun. When doing intros the main thing to watch for is aggression. Aggression makes the other rats scared, skittish and stressed. So if you want to know how things are going, always look for the omegas, are they happy? Are they playing and paying no mind to the bullies? If so…then you know everything is going to work out just fine. During the hour, I had rats out in the open, running, playing and exploring. There was the odd scuffle but nothing majour. At one point Gera got upset because the master stasher Molly was diligently working at emptying out Gera’s dish. Molly would pop into the cage, pick up a block and carry it over to her cage and stash. Finally, I would stop Molly on the steps, grab the block and hand it back to Gera who was on her heels. He would promptly return it to his stash. It was such a great out time, even Rory was doing his version of the popcorn, the head binky… the happy Rory dance.
This is it… this is why I do this.
Have I mentioned how much I love rats?

Happy baby Meeko, it’s all about him.

Today went a little better. But mainly because everyone knew to stay away from Rory and Max. Max made it clear that he doesn’t really want new friends but he’ll tolerate you if you keep your distance. Rory on the other hand did go into a frenzy trying to flip the little Doc, I was rooting for him but he eventually grew too tired so I removed him and calmed him down. I told him it will be easier once Doc is neutered. Rory knows what needs to be done and will find the right technique to flip the arrogant boy but it will take time. So I told him, I’ve got nothing but time my sweet Rory. We can do intros for weeks or months if you like, there’s no need to move them into your home, not before you are ready. The girls would love to have the new boys move in tomorrow but I’ve got to think about my manrats. This will work out even better especially when I add the Chief next week.

The beautiful but troubled Chief.

As I suspected, day 2 was worse. Why? because this is a time when they start to recognize each other and no longer tolerate their behaviours or simply their presence. Rory was having a heck of a time, same as Max. Max was not approachable and I think the new guys knew this. Poor Meeko, still quite young and unaware of the proper rat etiquette didn’t know Max was not in a mood for a chat. Meeko stayed one second too long next to him before Max went after him. Luckily, Meeko is a mexican jumping bean and he avoided any gashes, all the while screaming like a banshee, so much for keeping a calm energy, I think I was frazzled from the start. Meanwhile Rory was heading the Spanish Inquisition with his two top girls behind him. He was on a mission to seek and flip. Poor Gera stayed out of his way at all cost. This all started within the first 5 minutes of the out time. I didn’t know how I was going to last the full hour like this. Little Doc was in scenting frenzy. If it has atoms, he rubbed it. He and Bianca certainly made quite the pair. She hot on his heels begging him to mount her. I kept reminding her that she was spayed but she paid no mind to me. Finally it was too much for Rory. He retreated and went for a very small nap. After his nap, he was happy as pie, running all over the place and checking things out. I was amazed at his transformation. Even though Doc entered his kingdom, he didn’t let in to him, he simply followed him around. Finally an hour came around. I was fed up with Doc and told him that I’m going to chew off his gonads with my teeth if he kept up his childish bullying. Yes, of course I was kidding but he doesn’t have to know that. Friday can’t come fast enough. That’s also when Chief gets done and his intro into this dysfunctional family will start. I can’t wait…NOT.
I’m so hoping tomorrow will be better. Yes, I did the full hour. I don’t know how I survived it.

Meeko and Max, seconds before Max jumped him.

Rory and Doc…May I be of assistance?

Doc and Bianca… Rory the voyeur.

A pooped out Rory.

After a week of neutral ground intros, the rats are usually ready for familiar ground intros. That’s if all went well previously.
So today was familiar ground. I needed to calm myself first as it’s always nerve wracking. So many things can go so wrong and real fast that a calm energy is really what you need and what you want your rats to feel and get from this intro. I have 3 little souls I need to look out for. Young Meeko, being pretty much hairless could get hurt very fast. he’s young and scared. Young macho Doc who is unaware of the damage big bucks can do to little arrogant weasels. (no offence weasels) And finally Rory. He pretty much worries too much and feels he needs to control a situation when he really doesn’t. Thank god Chu was on Rory duty again today.
Now, I don’t recommend any cages during familiar ground intros. A cage is a source of hostility, stress and frustration. It is claimable territory which already belongs to someone. But in my case, I’m very attuned to my rats and their body language and I am fast at stopping anything before it starts. Best thing though, after a week of neutral ground is a week of familiar ground without the cage.
Today, I opened both cages, Rory’s cage and Gera’s cage. I armed myself with multigrain Cheerios and away we go.
Interestingly, Max is alpha. I thought it was Rory but it really isn’t. Max is a good one too. Little Doc was walking about all macho and flaunting his junk (only intact boy in the crowd) when Max comes out and sets him straight. Doc makes a run for it and no longer seeks gonad adoration. He decides to play with the girls instead. Even Max was fine when Doc would come past or even little Meeko. Max is turning out to be a fantastic big manrat. Things were fine in the beginning as they always are especially when food is available. Food distracts the rats from each other. I guess their stomach needs are stronger than hormones. lol But don’t kid yourself, this is not always the case. I’m lucky I have no aggression in any of these rats. 40 minutes into the intro and Rory has had enough. He decides to pick on sweet Gera. Which is lucky for Rory cause Gera is pure love. Chu sensing Rory’s stress runs to him and makes him flip her instead. Meanwhile, Rory is trying to catch up with Gera with a Chu on his tail. Chu flips didn’t seem to help Rory at all so I decided to cover him with both my hands, all his body length and press his head down to the floor. After a couple of seconds he immediately released his tension and was ready for play. Rory looks at you in such a way, like he’s trying to understand you all the while he knows you can see deep through him. He’s definitely got a deep soul. I decided to end it soon after. Gera had had enough of the stalking and needed time out fast. He runs into his spot in his cage only to find Doc had claimed it. This did not go well. Doc takes a grab out of Gera’s side, not ever breaking skin cause he’s really all talk no action and Gera whimpering. That’s when I said everyone go home. Which is too bad because for some, they are just starting to have fun like Meeko and Rory but my nerve were getting shot and I needed a coffee badly. So everyone went home, all safe, all sound and happy.
Tomorrow should go a little worse as day 2s usually are but then it’s all downhill from there.
I have survived initial familiar ground intro with cage and no animals were harmed during the process.
We are happy campers.